EMG 81 vs EMG 85

  • Thread starter Thread starter GuitardedMark
  • Start date Start date

EMG 81 or EMG 85 at the bridge?

  • Total voters
    4
GuitardedMark

GuitardedMark

New member
What do you like better for metal at the bridge position?
 
I can't vote because you forgot option #3 : EMG pickups are sterile sounding, tone robbing pieces of crap.
 
I personally like the 85 more. Less edgy. But most people like the 81. Especially for lead. I don't play much lead though. I actually like the 81 for the neck, because it's a lot less muddy.
 
ocnor said:
I can't vote because you forgot option #3 : EMG pickups are sterile sounding, tone robbing pieces of crap.
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LOL! Well, that is definetely a matter of opinion and clearly you missed the "What do you like better for metal" part o.O There are thousands of metal guitarists that swear by the emg-81 and for metal, I have yet to find a better pickup.

I like how whenever people bash EMG they always use the word "sterile" its almost like its the cool thing to say.
 
AMcB said:
I personally like the 85 more. Less edgy. But most people like the 81. Especially for lead. I don't play much lead though. I actually like the 81 for the neck, because it's a lot less muddy.
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Ya I was thinking about an 85 at the bridge and 85 at neck.
 
GuitardedMark said:
I like how whenever people bash EMG they always use the word "sterile" its almost like its the cool thing to say.
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It's no different than using the word "stink" when describing a skunk. If everyone keeps using the same word when describing them, then maybe a little light bulb should be going off above your head. I'll bet these same people are much older than you with a vast knowledge of different pickups. But like you said it's for metal and tonality is unimportant.
 
ocnor said:
It's no different than using the word "stink" when describing a skunk. If everyone keeps using the same word when describing them, then maybe a little light bulb should be going off above your head. I'll bet these same people are much older than you with a vast knowledge of different pickups. But like you said it's for metal and tonality is unimportant.
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Judging from previous posts it seems as though you have a good knowledge of guitar equiptment and I've read some very helpful posts from you. That being said, clearly your old age has come with the nasty side effect of ignorance o.O

Per ultimateguitar.com,

Content Richness: 9.5
Style: 9.5
Impression: 9.5
Overall rating: 9.5
Users rating: 8.9
Comments: 22

and also from Harmony Central,

Overall Rating 9.0 (302 responses)

Maybe you should consider that your opinion is not fact and there are thousands of people who disagree. Metallica for instance, uses EMG-81's and they have one of the most emulated tones of all time. You may not like the pickups, but your opinion is the "spoken word" by which everyone else should base their opinion. Also, how the fuck do you know about my knowledge of pickups? Your assuming because of my age... I didnt put an option #3 because I was trying to avoid old ass bastard trolls like yourself :eek:
 
ocnor said:
I can't vote because you forgot option #3 : EMG pickups are sterile sounding, tone robbing pieces of crap.
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all EMG's?, come on now.. dont lie, that wouldnt be nice, plus i think David Gilmour knows something about tone, EMG-SA's, The Division Bell, Coming Back To Life, if thats tone robbed I'll be a willing victim anyday

EMG-81's dont impress me though, my wittle brother uses them in all his guitars, but then again he wouldnt know tone if it slapped him upside the head, he's in a metal band <snort>
 
bradwestcott said:
all EMG's?, come on now.. dont lie, that wouldnt be nice, plus i think David Gilmour knows something about tone, EMG-SA's, The Division Bell, Coming Back To Life, if thats tone robbed I'll be a willing victim anyday
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That could explain why I never liked that album. It just sounds really bland compared to Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, and Animals.
 
MY guess is that those people reviewing the EMG's were replacing cheap Asian pickups. Of course they will sound better than that. There are some great pups out there for metal. Dimarzio's and Gibson's Dirty Fingers are a couple.
Some of the best pups I have ever heard are from Carvin.

I would have to agree that the EMG's don't sound as good as the aformentioned, but that is my opinion. Schecters are gorgeous guitars, but my Paul seems to have better tones than my buddies Damien.
 
It's just opinions. Some people say sterile, I say smooth. I like them. I also LOVE Burstbuckers. It's a different sound, just depends on what you need or want. People need to stop being so hateful. Just because you don't like them doesn't mean they suck. I don't like blueberries. But you don't see me hating on them.
 
AMcB said:
I don't like blueberries. But you don't see me hating on them.
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You don't like blueberries?... You're outta here!....I'm not kidding....Don't make me release the tiger.
 
ocnor said:
That could explain why I never liked that album. It just sounds really bland compared to Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, and Animals.
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oh my.. those are the classics, ok you win
























































































naaaaaaaa











































































they are far better works as a whole than the Water-less/Gilmour-full Division Bell, but the guitar tone on TDB, IMO, is a better sound, very glassy and bell-like, very pleasing to my ears and not bland at all, peace
 
I have a git (strat) with old EMG's in it (from 30 years ago ..... maybe EMG-60's?) ......... I don't use it much anymore because it's heavy but I don't remember hating on the sound. Guess I need to dig it out and refresh my memory.
 
bradwestcott said:
all EMG's?, come on now.. dont lie, that wouldnt be nice, plus i think David Gilmour knows something about tone, EMG-SA's, The Division Bell, Coming Back To Life, if thats tone robbed I'll be a willing victim anyday

EMG-81's dont impress me though, my wittle brother uses them in all his guitars, but then again he wouldnt know tone if it slapped him upside the head, he's in a metal band <snort>
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I agree! I have a SA at the neck on one of my guitars. Sounds awesome and I get a lot of compliments when I use it. I love it with fuzz ;)
 
The 81's are pretty brittle sounding. Most of the power is in the high end. This allows the transient to get through a fuzzy over distorted amp and gives you more clarity than most passive pickups through the same amp. It just pushes the amp in a different manner.

I still prefer passive pickups (the ones I use were cusom made for me by Duncan) because I prefer the way lower midrange breaks up an amp. And, yes, I've played almost nothing but metal my entire life....which is a very long time.
 
I think in 1988, after going through like 3 or 4 sets of passive pickups for my basswood ass-sounding Ibanez RG-550, I finally gave up and went with the 81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck (and whatever the single coil model was for the center). For the first time, the guitar stopped sounding like ass. I still have the guitar with those pickups. With a TS-10 into my Marshall, the 81 had (/has?) a useful metalful sound (in the late 80s, anyway), if somewhat sterile.

These days, if I put it up against my SG Supreme with 57 classic (passive) pickups into my old fart 1980s JCM 800, the SG sounds really dynamic and lively compared to the Ibanez with the EMGs - which sounds kind of, I dunno, sterile in comparison. Just another data point.

Anyway, I never even thought about putting the 85 in the bridge position - I was just following teh formula
 
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